A radical caesura and the rejection of Dada. When Suzanne Duchamp turns her back on the group, her picture subjects become more scenic.

After the end of her membership of Dadaism, Suzanne Duchamp’s creative work reaches a turning point and from now onward her works are predominantly figurative. From 1922 she creates landscapes, scenes that resemble allegories, underwater worlds, portraits, still lifes and also color experiments. In unconventional representations of bourgeois everyday life, the artist reveals herself as a sensitive and subtle observer of her surroundings. With understated wit and caricaturing acuity, from this time onward she reflects on the everyday and the interpersonal. Her reversion to figurative painting is accompanied by an emancipation of design: Duchamp increasingly distances herself from groups and pursues her own, colorfully dynamic style. The reasons why Duchamp quite suddenly turned away from Dadaism in 1922 remain a mystery.

Pageboy hairstyle, sailor collar, and an image detail like a selfie. Few self-portraits of Suzanne Duchamp are in existence. In this one she shows herself as a «New Woman». 

The light-blue background and the salmon-pink blouse create an exciting color contrast. The contours of the self-portrait are clearly defined; the dark hair, the figure, and the facial features stand out clearly. The portrait is restrained, reduced to essentials. Suzanne Duchamp is gazing past us as viewers, offering no eye contact as is mostly the case with self-portraits. In her pose and expression, Duchamp was probably referring to a photograph which shows her in a similar pose. Her fashionable clothing is a sign of the so-called «New Woman».

A sophisticated and mocking examination of societal conventions: Unlike her male Dadaist colleagues, whose provocations were often loud and direct, Duchamp choses subtle means.

Duchamp’s move towards an unconventional figurative painting style is not least an expression of her artistic self-image: Instead of continuing to exhibit her works with groups of other artists, from 1923 she increasingly appears independently and examines new forms of female imagery. In works like «Sur le banc» (On the Bench), «Soubrette dans le jardin» (Soubrette in the Garden), and «La noce» (The Wedding) Suzanne Duchamp reveals humor, irony, and a proximity to caricature. Her humor is not merely decorative: it subverts, questions, and liberates.

Cacti growing rampant, fantastic underwater worlds, and landscapes in glowing colors. In southern France, Suzanne Duchamp explores new subjects in politically difficult times. 

For Suzanne Duchamp, the Second World War marked a profound caesura—both personally and artistically. We have little information about her art during these years. Together with her husband Jean Crotti, she largely withdrew to southern France and into rural regions. On a number of occasions, her brothers Marcel Duchamp and Jacques Villon also joined them there.
After 1945, Suzanne Duchamp was afforded new opportunities to exhibit her work, and she traveled extensively abroad. In this period of seclusion, Duchamp focused on everyday life: Her paintings now increasingly show scenes from her immediate surroundings, especially landscapes, which she interpreted in brilliant, often unnatural colors.

«Le monde souterrain» (The Underground World), is an inward gaze: It reflects a world that lies hidden—mentally, emotionally, and possibly also socially. The visible becomes a symbol of an inner state.

During the 1950s Suzanne Duchamp’s contribution to the avant-garde was increasingly appreciated—especially her powerful combination of painting, poetry, and collage. Following the death of Jean Crotti in 1958, she increasingly turned towards abstraction. Her late work “Le Monde souterrain” (The Underworld) is an example of her examination of color, line, and the depths of being. Suzanne Duchamp remained active as an artist until her death in 1963, searching uncompromisingly and experimenting beyond the bounds of the usual conventions. The artist’s late painting is a work that delves deep into her symbolic and personal imagery. In a reduced, almost dreamlike style, Duchamp shows a mysterious underworld that eludes the real world. This gloomy composition appears abstract, although we can make out rock-like forms and structures that lead dynamically into the depths.

As a woman in the male-dominated avant-garde of the twentieth century, Suzanne Duchamp found her own way between Cubism, Dadaism, figuration, and personal picture subjects.
Suzanne Duchamp remained untiringly creative throughout her life. She was always searching for new forms of expression beyond the familiar, and her art repeatedly reinvented itself. In all her creative phases, her works were characterized by her inimitable distinct style and her personal interpretation of international art movements.

Don’t miss this drawing in the exhibition! Suzanne Duchamp uses flowing lines to link her self-portrait with the loudspeaker of a gramophone and the delicate head of a cat.